How to Use Social Media to Dominate Google's Search Results | Ep. #646

In episode #646, Eric and Neil discuss how you can use social media to dominate Google’s search results. Tune in to hear how you can leverage social media to rank higher in Google. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Use Social Media to Dominate Google's Search Results [00:40] You have to create a lot of content. [00:50] You can use social media to rank for your brand, but also for a lot of other keywords or terms. [00:56] If you search for anything, Google will also bring up Twitter results. [01:30] By participating in all social media sites, you can show up for everything! [01:45] Eric helped an alarm company push up the results for their social profiles and buried their one negative Forbes review. [02:35] Link to your social profiles from your website. [02:52] The domain authority to these sites is so high already, that Google will push the results higher. [03:08] Participate actively on social media. [03:24] Make sure you engage other users on social media. [03:48] Listen to Eric and Neil’s episode about getting your social media profiles up and running/link building. [04:00] Make sure you cross-promote your social profiles once per month. [04:20] Get personal: social is meant to be about you. Talk about your team instead of the product. [05:00] That’s all for today! [05:03] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

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Hear the dynamic voices behind our featured podcasts. Our hosts interview experts in the field, founders who solved real problems in their businesses, sports icons that translated their success on the field into serial business achievements, and influencers that help us understand what makes excellence possible.

How to Use Social Media to Dominate Google's Search Results | Ep. #646

In episode #646, Eric and Neil discuss how you can use social media to dominate Google’s search results. Tune in to hear how you can leverage social media to rank higher in Google. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Use Social Media to Dominate Google's Search Results [00:40] You have to create a lot of content. [00:50] You can use social media to rank for your brand, but also for a lot of other keywords or terms. [00:56] If you search for anything, Google will also bring up Twitter results. [01:30] By participating in all social media sites, you can show up for everything! [01:45] Eric helped an alarm company push up the results for their social profiles and buried their one negative Forbes review. [02:35] Link to your social profiles from your website. [02:52] The domain authority to these sites is so high already, that Google will push the results higher. [03:08] Participate actively on social media. [03:24] Make sure you engage other users on social media. [03:48] Listen to Eric and Neil’s episode about getting your social media profiles up and running/link building. [04:00] Make sure you cross-promote your social profiles once per month. [04:20] Get personal: social is meant to be about you. Talk about your team instead of the product. [05:00] That’s all for today! [05:03] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

Here's How SEO is Going to Change in 2019 | Ep. #645

In episode #645, Eric and Neil discuss how SEO is changing. Tune in to hear what will become of SEO next year and how you can adapt. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: [00:38] SEO is heading towards voice search. [00:40] However, it’s not just SEO, it’s the world. Consider Amazon’s “Alexa”. [01:03] Search is changing, because people will ask an AI assistant as opposed to Googling. [01:56] There is a tool that was developed to help with semantic searches. [02:08] It looks for the meaning of what you are looking for (ex. What is love? And it will produce results that offer resources to answer that question). [02:50] AI and semantic searches are melding together. [03:09] Alexa the product is better at SEO, but the voice device outranks it. [03:25] Mobile is huge now. [03:33] If you are using a mobile phone, the search index you see is different than what you would get on a desktop. [03:50] It’s unclear how to monetize voice search thus far. [04:04] You need to be there, so once it’s monetized, you can jump on it. [04:46] Eric and Neil now have their podcast on Alexa and they are getting more listens. [05:20] That’s it for today! [05:22] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

You Should Never Rely on SEO or Social Media Marketing | Ep. #644

In episode #644, Eric and Neil discuss why you should never rely on SEO or social media marketing alone. Tune in to hear why and how you should diversify your efforts. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: You Should Never Rely on SEO or Social Media Marketing [00:35] With social media sites, you are never in full control of your own destiny and you never want to put that in someone else’s hands. [01:00] Paid ads are great, but costs can go up or you can get banned. [01:26] Leverage SEO and Social, but you also need to diversify into things like paid advertising, email marketing, etc. [02:04] Be patient, get ONE thing working before you diversify. [02:47] When relying on social media channels, take your profits and diversify as quickly as possible. [03:05] Spend the money earlier on. [03:20] Once you have that multi-channel approach, make sure you are creating really high quality content. [04:00] Slow and steady wins the race with SEO. [04:11] It takes time and money to create great content. [04:44] Going for short-term hacks will screw you in the long run. [05:14] That’s all for today! [05:16] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

The Best Marketing Tools For Under $100 | Ep. #643

In episode #643, Eric and Neil discuss the best marketing tools for under $100. Tune in to hear which marketing tools are free or low cost and still get the job done. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: The Best Marketing Tools For Under $100 [00:33] Eric likes BuzzSumo, because it lets you track your brand, certain keywords, and traffic coming into your site. [00:56] Neil likes SpyFu. It’s not as popular as SEMrush and AHREFS, but it’s a lot less expensive and has a lot of good data. You get similar results, so if you can’t afford the other services, this is a great option. [01:16] Wistia has a good free version you can use to make and post videos. [01:50] Sumo is a great way to collect emails and remarket to people. It’s an all-in-one free tool. [02:18] Frame.io streamlines the video-making process. It may run you over $100/year. [02:42] Survey Monkey is a great tool to help you get feedback from your customers; this is a way to qualitative data. [03:14] For heat mapping, Crazy Egg can’t be beat. [03:26] Convert Kit is for email blasts. While it doesn’t have full automation, it’s a useful and easy-to-use tool for marketers. [04:29] You don’t have to pay for these tools every month. Sometimes, you can use the free option and always upgrade for a month at a time. [04:40] That’s it for today! [04:50] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

The Social Network That'll Drive You More Traffic Than Facebook | Ep. #642

In episode #642, Eric and Neil discuss the social media site that will drive more traffic to your site. Tune in to hear which social network you should be leveraging and what tactics you need to use. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: The Social Network That'll Drive You More Traffic Than Facebook [00:36] The social network that will get you more traffic than Facebook is LinkedIn! [00:45] It’s not popular, but it works better. [01:05] After the Microsoft acquisition, LinkedIn has stepped up their game. [01:14] When you post on LinkedIn, the post stays up longer and you get more engagement. [01:27] Facebook can do whatever they want, while LinkedIn is starving for content and needs to compete. [02:02] If you want organic traffic, use LinkedIn. [02:12] When Neil posts a video on LinkedIn, he gets anywhere from twice to seven times as many views as he would on Facebook. [03:03] To succeed on LinkedIn: take your video content and put it on LinkedIn. [03:11] To succeed on LinkedIn: Take the audio from your video content, turn it into a podcast and post on LinkedIn. [03:33] To succeed on LinkedIn: Post your blog posts on LinkedIn. [03:45] However, with blog posts you should put the title, first two paragraphs, and then a link to your site for the rest. [04:01] Engage with other groups and members. [04:16] That’s it for today! [04:20] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

The Simplest Way to Bring People Back to Your Website | Ep. #641

In episode #641, Eric and Neil discuss the simplest way to lure people back to your site. Tune in to hear how you can increase your traffic and conversions. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: The Simplest Way to Bring People Back to Your Website [00:55] You either collect emails or get them to opt into push notifications. Then you have to continually urge them back to your site. [01:10] You can also get people to follow your social profiles, but they don’t convert. [02:00] Subscribers is a great email service, but you can also use ManyChat to push people back to your site. [02:40] Try retargeting, as well. Google Retargeting and you will probably come across Neil. [03:07] It is just putting a pixel on your site that alerts ad networks and lets them track visitors. This will then allow ad networks to spot your visitors and post relevant ads in their browser that will send them back to your site. [03:20] However, retargeting is expensive. [03:27] Neil agrees that email is a great technique and likes Mobile Monkey. [03:45] It’s harder to get traffic from Facebook ads now, so you should leverage sure things like email and chatbot marketing. [03:53] That’s it for today! [03:58] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

The Marketing Tactic You Must Master in 2018 | Ep. #640

In episode #640, Eric and Neil discuss the marketing tactic you need to master this year. Tune in to hear what one tactic you should be leveraging. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: The Marketing Tactic You Must Master in 2018 [00:33] Surprise: it’s branding! [00:49] Neil recently performed a survey to discover what causes people to engage with his brand. [00:57] He made sure it was an open-ended survey. [01:05] The answers were either that they saw him at a conference or watched his videos. [01:55] The reason Eric and Neil simulcast their podcasts on video is because people enjoy and engage with the videos more. [02:14] Even though it costs more upfront, it will pay off financially in the long run. [03:00] The market is very fragmented right now; the way people market and engage with content varies. [03:38] Make sure that you spread your content across the many different social media platforms, because you will reach different people on each one. [04:35] There are a lot of websites that get a lot of traffic, but bring in little revenue; so, Neil’s company has been buying them out in order to pick up the traffic. [05:10] That’s it for today! [05:14] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

The Three Best Marketing Strategies | Ep. #639

In episode #639, Eric and Neil discuss the three best marketing strategies. Tune in to hear what three things you should be doing to increase your conversions. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: The Three Best Marketing Strategies [00:46] Posting less on Facebook, actually gets you more traffic. [01:14] Share your best pieces and you will get higher engagement. [01:40] Eric’s office has printed out and posted the Content Re-usage Workflow. [02:00] The framework says to start with a foundation, which will then give you options to spin the content down the line. [02:54] Google Analytics can now show you each person’s entrypoint to your site and what is causing a conversion. [03:05] Take the conversion data and take the low click-rate stuff and repurpose it. [04:15] Traffic that doesn’t convert isn’t worth your time. [04:37] That’s all for today! [04:44] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

Small Things Make The Biggest Difference | Ep. #638

In episode #638, Eric and Neil discuss why the small things can make a big difference. Tune in to hear how many different facets go into creating a successful business. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Small Things Make The Biggest Difference [00:36] At a past job, Eric took the footer links on the homepage and added more that said “Learn Web Design” and “Learn Web Development”. These small changes helped to improve the domain authority. [01:23] The Dropbox referral program isn’t what made their company, even though it helped. [01:35] Their explainer video was also a small thing that helped make a difference without making the only difference. [02:00] Dropbox offered a lot of little things to help create the powerhouse they are today. [02:15] It’s never just one thing, but rather a lot of little things that make up a successful company. [02:45] It’s like a video game: you are constantly leveling up. [03:38] Think about building things up, but remember not to do it in isolation. [04:00] Figure out how you can do one small marketing thing each and every week. [04:05] Even though you won't’ necessarily see the results every week, it will pay off in the near future. [04:20] When Eric started at Single Grain, the web traffic was 4000/month. Now, it is 100,000+/month. [04:30] This improvement was made over the course of four years. [04:41] Never expect immediate results. [05:16] Eric remembers grinding away until he got results. [05:44] It’s all about the journey! [06:06] For the first year that Eric was podcasting Growth Everywhere, he would spend six hours putting together all the facets of creating and uploading an episode. [06:17] He only got 9 downloads per day, but kept grinding away until he got more listeners. [06:30] Now, they get 80,000 listeners. [06:44] There was no one thing that made the podcast big, it was a combination of factors. [06:48] That’s all for today! [06:49] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

SEO Will Never be as Good as Paid Ads! | Ep. #637

In episode #637, Eric and Neil explain why paid ads are better than SEO. Tune in to hear why you should be focused more energy on paid ads. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: SEO Will Never be as Good as Paid Ads! [00:34] Content pages generally rank higher than product pages. [00:59] While paid ads are expensive, you can direct traffic to pages that will generate the most cash. [01:10] The conversion rate is higher, because visitors will land on a page that is selling them something. [01:29] You just can’t control SEO as well as you can paid ads. [01:57] With paid ads, you can scale as much as you need to. [02:20] VC’s really like pouring money into SaaS companies. [02:44] Google and Facebook wouldn’t be worth what they are, if it wasn’t for paid ads. [03:30] People are moving campaigns from TV to the Internet. [04:05] Focus on paid ads before SEO, especially if you have a product or service. [04:34] That’s it for today! [04:37] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

Is It Worth Spending $200 Per Blog Post? | Ep. #636

In episode #636, Eric and Neil discuss whether it is worth spending money on blog posts. Tune in to hear where your money should be going. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Is It Worth Spending $200 Per Blog Post? [00:33] Yes, it is worth the money! [00:45] The cost per blog depends on the industry. [00:50] It’s not about how much you pay, but rather if it is on the right topic, using the right keywords, etc. [01:05] You can’t be pushing or schilling in the post, it needs to educate. [01;20] Neil writes long-form blog posts. [01:40] It costs him well over $200 per blog post. [02:05] Start with a strong foundation and build from there (videos, webinars, facebook ads). [02:23] Singlegrain went from 4000 visitors per month to over 100,000 by using this strategy. [03:15] Every quarter, open up a tool like AHREFS, see the keywords for which you rank well and improve upon them or replicate that content. [04:01] Once you build a strong blog foundation, you can expand into other areas of media. However, don’t neglect your blog posts as a result. [04:15] You will get higher ROI by fixing up old content. [04:42] Clickflow is a tool to help you figure all this out. [04:58] If you spend money on a post, remember that it keeps generating traffic each and every month. [05:18] Google “Tom Tunguz and compound marketing” and you will get a great blog post about this very subject. [05:41] That’s it for today! [05:44] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

95% of You Will Ignore This SEO Strategy | Ep. #635

In episode #635, Eric and Neil discuss an important SEO strategy. Tune in to hear what you may have been overlooking. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: 95% of You Will Ignore This SEO Strategy [00:36] Branding is what separates good companies from the bad. [01:30] If you don’t know how popular a brand is, it’s hard to outrank them. [02:00] Neil’s strategy used to be: create good content, create value, wait for results. [02:04] This wasn’t the best strategy. [02:15] His best branding strategy was the “Who is Neil Patel?” campaign. [02:45] BuzzSumo has a great alert system that will help you track your brand. [02:51] Neil likes to use Google Trends, which is free. [03:03] Google Search Console is also a great way to track your progress. [03:10] GSC tracks farther back than 90 days, which is more helpful when gauging progress. [04:15] The stronger your brand, the higher your domain authority. [04:40] That’s it for today! [04:44] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

The Straightest Road to Success | Ep. #634

In episode #634, Eric and Neil discuss the easiest way to be successful. Tune in to hear why experiments are key. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: The Straightest Road to Success [00:33] The key to success is experimentation! [00:51] A lot of people forget to build out an experimentation framework. [01:02] Neil will split his team into four groups and each group will submit ideas each week for “crazy” experiments they can run. [02:38] Each group needs to run experiments every week. [02:46] GrowthHackers created North Star, which helps you track experiments over time. [03:00] Northstar is a free service. [03:18] Try Google Experiments as another tracker. [03:34] Build experimentation into the fabric of your company. [04:00] It’s ok if experiments fail! [04:28] By doing radical experiments, you can learn how to grow your company at a fast pace. [04:50] Read Crazy Egg to learn more about experimentation. [05:01] That’s all for today! [05:04] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

Don't Fall in Love With an Idea | Ep. #633

In episode #633, Eric and Neil discuss why you shouldn't fall in love with an idea. Tune in to hear what you should love in order to be successful. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Don't Fall in Love With an Idea [00:35] Most startups start with a totally different idea than what they are doing presently. [00:54] Don’t fall in love with an idea, fall in love with an industry. [01:55] As long as you stick with your industry, you can build upon that experience, as opposed to shifting to something else entirely. [02:18] It’s like compound interest: the moment you stop investing, you lose all that interest. [02:53] Stay in your lane. [03:01] In a Nathan Latka podcast interview, the discussion was about sticking with one industry instead of branching out into the unknown. [04:02] You need to love what you do, but make sure you love the industry. [04:20] Elon Musk had ZipTo, then Paypal, then SpaceX. Because he jumped industries, he struggled much longer before his success. [05:23] It’s like WOW: you need to keep levelling up. [06:00] That’s all for today! [06:04] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

Stop Copying Your Competition | Ep. #632

In episode #632, Eric and Neil discuss why you shouldn’t copy your competition. Tune in to see why past techniques may not work for you today. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Stop Copying Your Competition [00:38] What worked for your competition won’t necessarily work for you. [01:17] The problem with content marketing is that there is now a lot more competition. [01:40] Whereas Neil had success within the first three months, it would take people a year to do the same today. [02:18] Costs of paid ads have gone up and bigger brands drive prices even higher. [03:00] What people were willing to spend years ago, was a lot less than you would have to spend today. [04:00] Just because one tactic worked for another company, doesn’t mean it will work the same way for you. [04:15] Dropbox referral programs worked in the past, but they probably wouldn’t work now. [04:50] If you’re in business to make money, you should do something else. [05:03] You have to be three steps ahead of everyone; think about what will be popular in the future. Spot trends. [05:40] Take chances and shoot for the moon. [05:50] That’s all for today! [05:53] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

Don't Overthink Shit | Ep. #631

In episode #631, Eric and Neil discuss why it’s important to not overthink shit. Tune in to hear why overthinking could be ruining your business. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Don't Overthink Shit [00:34] Everyone loves to come up with complex funnels. [00:48] When you make it complex, stuff is more likely to break down. [01:12] Start simple, then expand. [01:22] When Eric started, his channel was SEO. They wrote content and did a lot of guest posting. [01:43] They tried a complex marketing funnel, but it didn’t work. [01:55] They also were podcasting at the same time and then layered in content marketing once they got the hang of everything. [02:27] Just focus on the things that you are good at. [02:40] Don’t take on too much and you can layer things in later. [03:14] Why build a crazy marketing/sales funnel, when you haven’t tried a simple one in order to see if it would even work? [03:50] The boring growth is often the most sustainable growth. [05:06] Wait until the next marketing method has been effective and monetized by others, then jump on the bandwagon. You don’t have to be the first! [05:33] That’s all for today! [05:36] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

How Successful Marketers Think | Ep. #630

In episode #630, Eric and Neil explain how successful marketers think. Tune in to hear what you should be doing to become a more successful marketer. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How Successful Marketers Think [00:35] Successful marketers are numb to failure. [00:45] Most experiments are going to fail, but as long as you continue to improve by 1%/week, that will be a 50% gain over the course of a year. [01:13] Consistency is key! [01:20] It takes time to get things right, but you have to stay the course. [01:45] Eric writes thousands of blog posts, even though he has terrible grammar. He knows it is important to follow through and be consistent. [01:50] Be a T-shaped marketer. [02:30] Spot trends! If you are not good at spotting trends, keep reading news sites and stay on top of things. [03:25] Things change so quickly in marketing. [04:45] If you are not thinking about ROI, you are not going to succeed in the marketing world. [05:20] It’s important to be data-driven; the numbers do not lie. [05:59] Don’t be afraid to shake up whatever industry you are in. [06:12] Neil is willing to do this by taking competitors products or services, copying them, and then offering them for free. [06:51] That’s all for today! [06:57] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

How to Start in SEO | Ep. #629

In episode #629, Eric and Neil Discuss how to get started in SEO. Tune in to hear what’s changed and how you can get a successful start doing SEO. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Start in SEO [00:45] The biggest thing that Eric and Neil are seeing right now is that the path to success has changed. [01:18] If you spend a year practicing SEO on your own website, that’s no longer the way to go. [01:35] You should practice on someone else’s older website. [01:52] Hit up a ton of people offering your services for free. [02:00] It’s easier to grow a business than it is to start one. [02:25] During a TED Talk Eric saw, a Harvard Professor outlined the three elements of trust: authenticity, empathy, and logic. [02:45] When you develop your skills for free, you will eventually earn clients. [03:14] You will probably have to email 15-17 people before you get a solid “yes” when it comes to offering your services for free. [03:40] Make sure that the person to whom you offer your services is as committed as you are. [03:59] Even if you are working for free, make sure you get a contract to get the time that you need. [04:38] A semantic search tool was just released from a developer at Google. [04:57] Be aware that this is the future of searching and it will affect your SEO. [05:42] SEO and Sales are similar. [05:58] SEO is trying to sell yourself and get a link. [06:04] Victor Antonio has a great YouTube page about sales. [06:24] Most new SEO workers focus on traffic from relevant keywords, which Neil thinks is a terrible idea. [06:37] Just because you get more relevant traffic, doesn’t mean you get more sales. [06:50] Instead, look at Google Analytics, see where your ROI is coming from, focus on increasing traffic to the landing pages with the most revenue. [07:21] That’s it for today! [07:25] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

6 Minutes For the Next 60 Years of Your Entrepreneurial Journey | Ep. #628

In episode #628, Eric and Neil have a 6-ish minute chat about planning for the long-term. Tune in to hear why you should always focus on long-term goals and solutions. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: 6 Minutes For the Next 60 Years of Your Entrepreneurial Journey [00:36] When you think about starting a business, most people think about “what problem should I solve?” [00:54] But you should also ask “will this problem that I’m solving still be relevant in the ensuing years?” [01:08] You don’t want to have to create a new business every few years. [01:30] Eric thinks Singlegrain will still be around in 20 years, but that it will have to evolve. [02:10] Five years into his business, Eric believes he still has a long way to go. [02:36] If you come up with a short-sighted solution, then you will have to start a new business every few years. It is easier to grow a business than it is to start one. [03:00] Elon Musk has a long-term plan to work towards getting people on Mars. [04:07] Often times, the most difficult problems to solve are also the most boring, but the boring stuff stands the test of time. [05:00] Neil believes marketing will always be around as a industry. [05:45] Focus on your strengths and then see how you can expand upon that. [06:10] Do the boring stuff! [06:36] Don’t focus on the short-term solutions or businesses. [06:53] That’s all for today! [06:58] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

How to Find a CMO | Ep. #627

In episode #627, Eric and Neil discuss how you can find a CMO. Tune in to hear what you should be doing to grab your next successful CMO. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Find a CMO [00:33] They get hit up all the time for people looking to fill this position, but it is the hardest position to fill. [00:55] Tap into referral networks. [01:05] When Eric was hired at Treehouse, he was referred in. [01:27] Don’t just hire a CMO, have someone prove in a lesser position that they can deliver results for you. Have people work their way up. [02:55] Instead of having a CMO, just make the marketing department work together to guide the mission. [03:41] Contingency firms whose focus is on hiring executives is another way to go. [03:48] They will cost you a lot of money, but will deliver on the mission. [04:34] Org structures are different now, so it changes how you can operate. [04:38] To recap: referral networks work, contingency firms work, having NO CMO works. [04:48] That’s it for today! [04:50] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

To Focus or Not to Focus, The Marketer's Dilemma | Ep. #625

In episode #625, Eric and Neil discuss where and how to focus your energy. Tune in to hear what you should actually be focusing on! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: To Focus or Not to Focus, The Marketer's Dilemma [00:50] People have different concepts of how marketing works. [01:02] Your tactics all depend on what your business is, what its status is, etc. [01:37] Pick a tactic that is working the best for you and focus all your energy on that. [01:55] Once that tactic is operating to its best abilities, add in other tactics. [02:24] Eric worked at a company that tried a bunch of different tactics and found video marketing worked the best, then focused all their energy on that. [03:14] Neil met the Legal Zoom/Shoedazzle CEO; he told Neil to have laser focus. [04:10] Steve Jobs said that he is better at saying “no” than other people. [04:40] If your growth rate is accelerating, hit the gas. If it’s decelerating, think about what you can improve. [04:55] That’s all for today! [05:02] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

Why We Don't Watch The News | Ep. #626

In episode #626, Eric and Neil explain why they don’t watch the news. Tune in to hear why television news is a waste of your time. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Why We Don't Watch The News [00:33] The news media is just another business. [00:45] It’s a viewership-driven business and they thrive on ad revenue. [01:00] Instead, Eric follows different people on Twitter and gets his news from that. [01:20] TV news is just noise! [02:21] You can get your news by browsing news sites instead. [02:34] If something really important or big happens, you will most likely find out about it on Twitter or social media, anyway. [03:15] By not spending time posting on social media, you gain a lot of hours back. [03:44] To beat your competition, focus on your business and what matters as opposed to being obsessed with frivolous social media posts. [04:40] The Economist Espresso is one or two paragraphs and summarizes the most important stories. [05:00] “If you want to do well, stop wasting your time” -Neil [05:07] That’s all for today! [05:10] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

How to Get More Out of Your Day | Ep. #624

In episode #624, Eric and Neil discuss how you can get more out of your day. Tune in to hear how you should be organizing your life. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Get More Out of Your Day [00:40] Google “Michael Hyatt Perfect Day”, which will explain how to block out your day. [00:53] Eric and Neil record at a set time every week. [01:07] Thursdays are Eric’s content days. Fridays are for his SAS products. [02:05] Eric will do networking events, dinners, etc., because it is a priority for growing his business. [02:40] Figure out your end goal and cut everything else out. [03:00] Neil doesn’t do networking events, rather he does actual tasks. [03:15] He feels that if he hasn’t accomplished his goals, he can’t rest, so he doesn’t care about work/life balance: he works through illnesses and holidays. [03:29] Mark Schuster did a blog post “Learning Before Earning”, which you should read. [04:09] The book, The One Thing, tells you to pick your most important goal and to just focus on that. [05:06] Building or fostering good habits is key. [05:15] You have to rank things to determine which is the most urgent/important. [05:42] Check out Rescue Time: It will show you how you are spending your time and allow you to cut the fat. [06:15] Delegate! [07:10] That’s all for today! [07:16] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

Here's A Unique Way To Keep Your Brand Top Of Mind | Ep. #623

In episode #623, Eric and Neil discuss how you can stay top of mind. Tune in to hear what you should be doing to remain popular. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Here's A Unique Way To Keep Your Brand Top Of Mind [00:38] If you look at Drift, every time they launch a new feature, they always have a lot of fanfare and masquerade it as a product launch. [01:26] In 2017, Neil bought UberSuggest and relaunched it as a free tool in 2018. [01:45] He used Product Hunt to promote it. [02:15] Neil publishes to his blog 7 days a week! [02:32] You have to be relentless in order to stay top of mind. Tom Brady is a great example of relentlessness. [03:00] There is no one specific thing you can do to stay popular, but rather you have to try everything. [03:42] The rule of 7: someone has to see something 7 times before they convert. [04:10] By putting yourself out there, eventually, you will become top of mind. [04:51] Zoom doesn’t run a lot of ads, but they have billboards everywhere in San Francisco. They even bought a sponsorship at the arena where the Golden State Warriors play. [05:28] That’s all for today! [05:31] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

Running Out of Marketing Ideas? Do this | Ep. #622

In episode #622, Eric and Neil discuss what you can do when you run out of marketing ideas. Tune in to hear where you can find inspiration to get you out of a rut. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Running Out of Marketing Ideas? Do this [00:45] Eric opens Feedly, which has a bunch of marketing blogs, which can give him a bunch of ideas. [01:17] Nuzzle takes all of his Twitter followers and shows him who they are following. [01:34] Basically, go out and research in order to get new ideas. [01:47] Instead of doing more things, improve what you are already doing. [01:53] Try using Buzzsumo, SEMRush, AHREFS in order to see what your competitors are doing. [02:14] Re-write your competitors work and improve upon it. [02:46] Whatrunswhere shows you what banner ads your competitors are leveraging. [03:15] Keep things fresh: go look at your channels and update/upgrade them. [03:42] Crowdsource your ideas! [04:50] Listen to competitors’ podcasts, which will give you great ideas. Find out their numbers, see what’s working, and leverage this information to your advantage. [05:32] Eric did an episode of Growth Everywhere and his interviewee’s competitor was listening and reached out to Eric. [06:01] The competitor picked up some useful info, just from listening to the podcast. [06:25] That’s all for today! [06:29] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

Marketers Are Full of Shit | Ep. #621

In episode #621, Eric and Neil explain how marketers are full of shit. Tune in to hear how you can decipher a bullshitter from a talented marketer. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Marketers Are Full of Shit [00:34] Marketers always talk a big game, but their results speak for themselves. [01:08] When hiring marketers, make sure whatever they claim to have done is backed up by proof. [01:45] Eric’s friend had to fire his marketing guy, because the marketer used up too many resources. [02:16] You must absolutely require proof of success and pay them for a trial period (run a series of paid tests). [02:48] Always test out a working relationship before you pull the trigger. [03:20] Neil doesn’t care what your title is, he is only focused on efficacy and results. [03:43] Eric and Neil can easily provide proof of their results. [04:05] “What is the most impressive win of your marketing career thus far?” is Eric’s favorite interview question. Once you start pressing for details, you can tell whether a candidate is lying. [04:40] Neil likes to show candidates his website and ask what they would do to fix any issues. [05:05] This is a great way to see if they can think on their feet or improve upon anything. It shows you if they know what they are talking about. [05:41] That’s all for today! [05:43] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

7 Unorthodox Marketing Hacks You Ought to Leverage | Ep. #620

In episode #620. Eric and Neil discuss 7 unorthodox marketing hacks. Tune in to hear what you could be doing to drive conversions. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: 7 Unorthodox Marketing Hacks You Ought to Leverage [00:35] #1: When driving people to your website, less than 5% will convert. For the 95% that don’t convert, re-market them with an opposite pitch (logical vs. emotional). [01:22] #2: Every month, when Drift launches a new feature, they treat it as a product launch, which helps to keep them top-of-mind. Product Hunt is a great tool for this. [02:22] #3: There is a program on LinkedIn that gives a special button that populates their LinkedIn info into a form, so they have less work to do. This will increase your leads and conversions, because there is less work to be done [02:59] #4: Build a repurposing framework. Think about all the content you can take even further (turning a blog post into a video, social media post, webinar, etc.). [03:36] #5: To increase your traffic, start doing things people wouldn’t normally do. [04:01] The best way to get people from your blog to your landing page/product page is to place banner ads within your blog. [04:27] #6: Offer something for free for the cost of shipping. [04:57] Russell Brunson built his company by doing this. [05:10] #7: Give people options in your ads. [05:22] Within the first 30 seconds of a video about learning guitar, the instructor offered a link for beginners and a link for more advanced students. [06:04] That’s it for today! [06:06] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

How to Audit Your Content in 5 Minutes | Ep. #619

In episode #619. Eric and Neil discuss how you can audit your content in 5 minutes. Tune in to hear how you can quickly improve your content. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Audit Your Content in 5 Minutes [00:34] Eric likes to use Screaming Frog Spider, an SEO tool that allows him to crawl his website like a search engine would. [01:06] There’s an annual fee, but it’s a great way to audit your content. [01:12] Neil likes to make a list of all his Wordpress content, see which topics are duplicates, then plugs that into Google Search Console. Once he sees which ones are ranking, he will combine the similar posts and update his links. [02:04] This is the quickest way to audit your content and this will increase your rankings. [03:05] Using a tool like AHREFS allows you to do content gap analysis, while also offering a look at your competitors. [03:25] Content auditing doesn’t take long! [03:43] Click flow helps to optimize organic click-through rates to drive your traffic up. [04:12] That’s all for today! [04:15] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

Why You Shouldn't Hire Harvard Graduates | Ep. #618

In episode #618, Eric and Neil discuss why Ivy League graduates aren’t always the best marketers. Tune in to hear why you shouldn’t hire a Harvard grad. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Why You Shouldn't Hire Harvard Graduates [00:35] People who come from Ivy League schools are smart and they are not saying not to hire them. [01:20] What you need to do, is hire people based on how creative they are and their past work. [01:38] If a candidate can turn a dud into a stud, they can probably do great work for you. [01:55] People who go to good schools are good at following instructions. When it comes to getting creative and thinking outside the box, they may not be able to do that. [02:40] When Eric was 22, there was a Harvard grad who was in the same position as Eric. The Harvard grad appeared to have no chutzpah and would come in and only do what he was told. This motivated Eric to work hard and be creative. [03:25] Affiliate marketers are the most creative, because they don’t operate based on rules. [04:15] People that operate outside boundaries and make difficult numbers work, are often successful affiliate marketers. [04:36] That’s all for today! [04:38] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

Our Favorite Marketing WordPress Plugins of 2018| Ep. #617

In episode #617, Eric and Neil count out their favorite WordPress plugins. Tune in to hear what plugins you should be using to optimize your posts. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Our Favorite Marketing WordPress Plugins of 2018 [00:35] YouTube Subscribe Bar allows you to embed videos and include a subscribe button. However, the subscribe button will subscribe viewers to your channel instead of the channel from which the video was posted. [01:13] Yoast SEO Plugin has an XML sitemap generator. They create XML sitemaps the correct way, whereas other plugins do not. [01:37] Tools like Pretty Links help to shorten links and make them more visually appealing. [02:05] Exit Pop Ups works well with Hello Bar and Neil likes it because you can make your background an animated GIF. Animated GIFs tend to up your subscribers. [02:27] Wordable allows you to write a post in Google Sheets and then push it directly to Wordpress. [03:18] Gravity Forms is a great way to do integrations and collect payments. You can hook it in with Woocommerce or Zapier. [03:52] WP Embed Code Generator, which is great for creating embed codes for your infographics, so other people can use them. [04:09] A Blogging Checklist is an oldie, but a goodie. The checklist is an easy form for everyone to follow. It’s a dummy-proof solution. [04:46] That’s all for today! [04:49] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

How to Use Social Media to Dominate Google's Search Results | Ep. #646

In episode #646, Eric and Neil discuss how you can use social media to dominate Google’s search results. Tune in to hear how you can leverage social media to rank higher in Google. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Use Social Media to Dominate Google's Search Results [00:40] You have to create a lot of content. [00:50] You can use social media to rank for your brand, but also for a lot of other keywords or terms. [00:56] If you search for anything, Google will also bring up Twitter results. [01:30] By participating in all social media sites, you can show up for everything! [01:45] Eric helped an alarm company push up the results for their social profiles and buried their one negative Forbes review. [02:35] Link to your social profiles from your website. [02:52] The domain authority to these sites is so high already, that Google will push the results higher. [03:08] Participate actively on social media. [03:24] Make sure you engage other users on social media. [03:48] Listen to Eric and Neil’s episode about getting your social media profiles up and running/link building. [04:00] Make sure you cross-promote your social profiles once per month. [04:20] Get personal: social is meant to be about you. Talk about your team instead of the product. [05:00] That’s all for today! [05:03] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu